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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
A holiday-shortened week begins with news of an acquisition, a new partnership, and a new solution to enhance lender-borrower communication. Be sure to check back all week long for updates on the latest headlines in fintech.
This week we began our celebration of FinovateEurope’s earliest alums. In honor of FinovateEurope’s Alumni Alley Showcase – a new feature designed to highlight the innovations of FinovateEurope alums – we’re highlighting the companies that introduced their innovations to Finovate’s European audience more than a decade ago – and are still among the top innovators in fintech today.
Founded in 2003, Backbase has been demonstrating its fintech innovations on the Finovate stage for more than a decade. Making its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in 2011, the company made its most recent on-stage appearance at FinovateFall in 2021, demoing the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform. In that ten years, the Amsterdam-based company was awarded Best of Show on four occasions, including three from the company’s demos at our conferences in London.
From its origins as a Bank 2.0 innovator, helping banks take advantage of the growing consumer interest in online and mobile banking, to its current incarnation as an Engagement Banking specialist, Backbase has demonstrated a consistent mission of enabling FIs to turn emerging technologies into opportunities for better customer service and engagement. The company’s official rebrand this fall only underscores much of what Backbase has been about all along.
Backbase founder and CEO introducing Backbase’s technology at FinovateEurope 2011.
“Our proven growth model has brought us to where we are today and it’s time to evolve our branding to reflect that growth,” Backbase founder and CEO Jouk Pleiter said. “Backbase is the innovation partner enabling traditional banks and credit unions to take the leap into the platform era, and we’re just getting started.”
Most recently, Backbase announced an expanded relationship with Boston, Massachusetts-based Eastern Bank ($22 billion in assets). The institution deployed Backbase-as-a-Service (BaaS) and Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform to enable it to offer new digital banking solutions.
Boku Blossoms as Mobile Payments Boom
When Finovate audiences first met Boku at FinovateEurope 2011, the San Francisco-based company had 60 employees and $40 million in equity funding. Today, the direct mobile payments company is a publicly traded entity with more than 300 employees and a market capitalization of more than $390 million. Boku processes more than nine billion in payments every year, and includes some of the largest digital brands – from Google and Spotify to Netflix and Microsoft – as customers of what it bills as the largest mobile payments network in the world.
Boku founder Mark Britto demonstrating the company’s mobile payment technology at FinovateEurope 2011.
Boku was among the fintechs to recognize early on the potential mobile payments had to bring financial services to un- and underbanked consumers that owned mobile phones, but did not own credit cards or traditional bank accounts that would enable them to participate in online commerce. The company launched mobile wallet payments in the Philippines in 2012, brought mobile payments to Sony’s PlayStation Store in 2014 and, in 2020, acquired the Estonia-based carrier billing company Fortumo for $41 million.
This fall, Boku announced that it will supply Amazon.com with its digital wallet and other local payment methods as part of a new, multi-year agreement. Boku CEO Jon Prideaux said that the partnership helped reinforce the company’s “strategic move” into digital wallet payments.
SecureKey: Acquisition As An Enabler of Further, Faster Innovation
More than ten years after SecureKey won Best of Show at FinovateEurope 2011 for its authentication technology that leveraged contactless cards to streamline the online checkout process, the Toronto, Ontario-based company announced that it had agreed to be acquired by NortonLifeLock’s digital security and privacy firm, Avast.
SecureKey CEO Greg Wolfond demoing the company’s technology at FinovateEurope in 2011.
“SecureKey’s vision has been to revolutionize the way consumers and organizations approach identity and the sharing of personal information in the digital age,” SecureKey CEO Greg Wolfond said when the acquisition was announced this spring. “By working closely with governments, financial institutions, and businesses, we have an established track record of trusted and mature identity networks that provide consumers with the secure digital capabilities they deserve.”
SecureKey’s digital identity technology enables more than 200 million secure transactions a year internationally. Prior to the acquisition, SecureKey also had made major inroads in helping organizations and institutions, including governments, embrace modern authentication technologies. The company’s Verified.Me distributed digital identity verification network and Government Sign-In by Verified.Me provide secure and convenient login options to hundreds of government services and applications online. Both authentication services are provided by Interac under an exclusive Canadian licensing agreement.
Mobile payments company Boku has sold its Mobile Identity unit to cloud communications firm Twilio.
Twilio will leverage the technology to create new packages in its Lookup API and Verify API offerings.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mobile payments company Bokuannounced it has sold its Mobile Identity unit to cloud communication company Twilio. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Twilio says the purchase is a reflection of its commitment to accelerate its vision for seamless mobile identity and digital intelligence. “Twilio and Boku Mobile Identity share a common goal– building a seamless consumer identity solution that doesn’t sacrifice user experience for security,” said Twilio’s General Manager of Account Security Aaron Goldsmid.
Boku’s Mobile Identity unit verifies customer data in real time using its database of mobile network operator identity connections. Ultimately, the tool helps business customers verify client data in real time, providing a smooth onboarding experience for their end users while mitigating fraud.
San Francisco-based Twilio said it will leverage Boku’s mobile identity technology to create new packages in its Lookup API and Verify API products. The company also plans to build on Boku Mobile Identity’s comprehensive mobile identity network to improve its existing security offerings.
Founded in 2008, Twilio seeks to reinvent how companies engage with their customers by digitizing communication channels via its APIs. The companies tools– which target voice, text, chat, video, and email– do everything from helping companies connect IoT devices to cellular networks to building real-time video applications.
Boku, which offers solutions that help deliver mobile payments, was founded in 2008. Last summer, the company launchedM1ST, also known as Mobile First. The new offering features 330+ mobile payment methods, including mobile wallets, direct carrier billing, and real-time payments schemes. M1ST reaches 5.7 billion mobile payment accounts across 90 countries.
Mobile payments company BOKUannounced its expansion beyond carrier billing today with the launch of M1ST, a mobile payments network.
M1ST, also known as Mobile First, features 330+ mobile payment methods, including mobile wallets, direct carrier billing, and real-time payments schemes. The payment methods reach 5.7 billion mobile payment accounts across 90 countries.
“Today, we’re launching the M1ST Network to enable global merchants to acquire, monetize, and retain mobile-first consumers,” said BOKU CEO Jon Prideaux. “For merchants to capitalize on the massive potential of mobile-first consumers, they need to accept the payment methods they have and prefer, which are increasingly behind glass screens, not rectangular pieces of plastic.”
The new network, which runs via a single integration, is a solution for the currently fragmented mobile payments space. The technology circumvents many hurdles that come with with payments, including the myriad of tax and legal regulations associated with different geographies.
With M1ST, merchants receive a single, global settlement which eliminates the complexity of local taxes, foreign exchange, and cash repatriation. Additionally, BOKU’s payment licenses enable merchants to accept regulated payments in nearly 50 countries.
BOKU’s new launch comes at a good time in the payments space. As consumers continue transitioning to digital banking and transaction methods, many are becoming increasingly comfortable with digital payments via mobile wallets.
Founded in 2008, BOKU offers digital customer acquisition, customer onboarding, and mobile user authentication tools. The San Francisco-based company currently serves more than 600 global merchant partners and processes $9 billion in payments every year.
As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.
Central and Eastern Europe
FintechOS of Romania raises $1.23 million (€1.1 million) in post-seed funding.
Elvira Nabiullina, head of the Central Bank of Russia, talks about the state of Russian fintech.
Lithuania’s Evarest to launch a stock trading app in the second half of the year.
Enveillaunches its enhanced ZeroReveal 2.0 data-in-use security solution.
Bokuintegrates with digital payments solution Grab in order to expand payment options in Southeast Asia.
Equifax Canada announces partnership with SecureKeyTechnologies.
Artivesttaps Paul Nobile as its new Chief Marketing Officer.
Lattice80 interviews Ashish Gadnis, Co-Founder and CEO of BanQu.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
Carrier billing company Boku is set to expand its expertise with a new acquisition this week. The San Francisco-based company agreed to acquire mobile identification and authentication company Danal for up to $68 million. The acquisition is expected to close December 31, 2018.
The deal is being structured as a reverse triangular merger to ensure Boku acquires 100% of Danal, a subsidiary of DFS Services. To finance the acquisition, Boku is issuing 26.7 million common shares for $0.0001 each, $3 million in Boku warrants, and $1 million in cash. In addition, Boku will pay deferred consideration of up to $64 million, the exact amount dependent on Danal’s future performance.
Leveraging its connections to MNOs, Danal offers data matching, account baselining, phone identification, and proactive monitoring to verify users’ identities for verticals including banks, healthcare, hospitality, and ecommerce. The San Jose-based company also offers solutions to satisfy Know Your Customer (KYC) and Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) regulations. Some of Danal’s customers include Western Union, BNP Paribas, PayPal, Square, Moneygram, Login.gov, and USAA. The privately-held company has raised $14.5 million.
Boku will leverage Danal’s technology to offer mobile identity services to its existing customers and to provide global coverage to Danal’s U.S. customers. “Combining Danal’s customer base and technology with Boku’s international scale and global MNO connection capability, will allow us to build the world leader in this emerging space,” said Boku CEO Jon Prideaux. “This acquisition allows us to offer services that go further and to improve user quality for our customers while at the same time improving the mobile experience for users… Danal has shown that MNO data can also combat fraud, reduce friction in signup and ensure regulatory compliance on mobile.”
Boku was founded in 2008 and provides payments technology that allows consumers to charge purchases to their mobile phone bill. The company offers its operator network for acquiring, activating, and monetizing customers through their mobile phones. The Boku platform is used in large digital marketplaces such as the Google Play store, Apple’s App store, Spotify, and Facebook’s App Center.
At FinovateEurope 2011 Boku showcased its mobile payment service. Earlier this fall, Boku was awardedBest Newcomer at the AIM Awards. Boku is publicly traded on the London stock exchange with a current market capitalization of $124 million.
Coinbasecontinues to explore support for new digital assets.
The city of Rye, NY partners with Passport to manage parking.
Mortgage Cadenceintegrates Radian’s mortgage insurance service into its Enterprise Lending Center solution.
The CX Show interviewsSaleMove co-founder and CEO Dan Michaeli about creating contact center leaders.
TechCrunch interviewsTransferwise cofounder and CEO Kristo Käärman on growing money transfers despite global turbulence.
Pendo Systemspartners with Azimuth GRC and Global Comply.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
Carrier billing company BOKUplans to go public on the London Stock Exchange’s alternative investment market (AIM), an international market for smaller growing companies. Ahead of next week’s public debut, the company announced it expects to raise $60 million on a post-money valuation of $164 million.
Of the $60 million, $39.5 million will be distributed to individual investors. The company will reinvest $20 million to promote growth activities, such as bolstering its efforts in India and increasing partnerships with carriers.
BOKU was founded in 2008 and provides payments technology that allows consumers to charge purchases to their mobile phone bill. The company offers its operator network for acquiring, activating, and monetizing customers through their mobile phones. The BOKU platform is used in large digital marketplaces such as the Google Play store, Apple’s App store, Spotify, and Facebook’s App Center.
BOKU has raised a total of $91 million from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark, Index Ventures, Khosla, NEA and Telefonica. At FinovateEurope 2011 the company showcased its mobile payment service. Earlier this fall, BOKU inked a partnership with ALTBalaji, the largest digital platform for exclusive and original shows from India, to allow its clients to pay their bill through their mobile carrier. A few months prior, the San Francisco-based company added three new geographies to its partnership with Spotify, enabling consumers in France, Australia, and Malaysia to pay their subscription via carrier billing.
UBS Card Center leverages AI technology from FICO to lower fraud write-offs.
D3 Bankingadds new payment options, flexible card controls to its digital banking platform.
Thomson Reutersintroduces new set of MiFID II reference data capabilities available on its data and analytics platform, DataScope.
ProsperReports Third Quarter Growth; Closes $1.5 Billion of Securitizations in 2017
AngelList picksQuid as a top machine learning company.
Lighter Capitalpartners with Intuit to launch $15M fund for QuickBooks developers.
Blackhawk NetworkExpands Partnership with eBay to Provide B2B Gift Card Solutions
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
CASHOFFEarns Spot in Inaugural Innotribe Startup Challenge Russia
Around the web
Xerolaunches new e-invoicing solution for SMEs, Xero Connect.
Bokuextends direct carrier billing relationship with Microsoft.
American Banker looks at Klarna and the rise of “high-tech, low-effort” online lending.
Xerorolls out automated Stripe reconciliation to match transactions to the Stripe statement line.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.
